


They Grow Up So Fast

by mldrgrl



Series: Little Will Universe [2]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 23:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8420536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mldrgrl/pseuds/mldrgrl
Summary: Written by request from a slew of prompts for drabbles about "Little Will"





	

They Grow Up So Fast  
  
99\. Why is it pink?  
  


Scully bit her lip as the timer in her hand went off. She took a few more moments to breathe deeply and then she picked up the plastic stick on the counter. She checked the instructions on the package against the little window at the top of the stick and then sat down on the closed toilet seat and let out a held breath.

 

After taking a few minutes to collect herself, Scully got up and opened the bathroom door, stick in hand. Mulder looked up from his perch at the end of the bed and gazed directly into her eyes. They watered slightly and her breath hitched.

 

“Oh, Scully,” he whispered, holding his hand out to her.

 

Scully shook her head as she tripped forward and into the space between Mulder’s legs. He wrapped his arms around her back and she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tightly.

 

“We’ll keep trying,” he said.

 

She shook her head next to his and pulled her torso away to see his face. “I'm pregnant,” she whispered.

 

He pursed his lips and cocked his head and then reached up to wipe the tears rolling down the sides of her cheeks. She twisted her arm over his head as she brought it over his head and showed him the stick in her hand.

 

“You're pregnant?” He grabbed her wrist to look closer at the little window and then cast his eyes back up at her face. “Why are you crying?”

 

“I don't know.” She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck again.

 

“It's pink,” he said. “Why is it pink? Does that mean it's a girl?”

 

Scully laughed again and pulled her head back to kiss him, but stopped at the look on his face. He looked awestruck, but there was yearning there that gave her pause.

 

“What is it?” she asked.

 

“You're pregnant,” he whispered, sliding one of his hands around to her abdomen and holding it there.

 

She nodded and then returned the stupid grin he gave her before kissing him.

 

//

 

  1.   
First the washer then the dryer!    
  




Will was only a week old and they'd been in the house for barely a month. Scully wanted to raise a child in a real neighborhood, one with a good school district and hopefully close to a park. Mulder shrugged and let her do the house hunting since his only requirement was a den and a place for his leather couch and fish.

 

Mulder had been sent out in the morning on numerous errands. He tried to accomplish as much as possible in the least amount of time possible. He didn't want to leave Scully alone for too long. They were both getting accustomed to having a baby in the house. Will was pretty easy so far, but suddenly the smallest things worried Mulder terribly and he was mostly afraid of not being there if anything happened.

 

The squalling could be heard from the garage.  As soon as Mulder was out of the car, he abandoned the groceries and hurried inside at the sound of distress.  He called Scully’s name and found her in the kitchen, pacing with a red-faced, screaming Will and tears running down her face.

 

“What happened?” he asked, pulling her close to hold her with the baby between them.

 

“I can’t get in touch with a plumber,” she cried, sobbing against Mulder’s shoulder.

 

“Why do we need a plumber?”

 

Will wailed over Scully’s shoulder and Mulder pulled back to take him from her and try to calm him down.  She passed the baby over and while Mulder rocked him and patted him and made shushing noises, she wiped her cheeks and sniffed.

 

“Scully, why do we need a plumber?” he asked again.

 

“I tried to do laundry,” she said.  “I was on the second load and the washing machine started making a noise. I went to investigate and found water all over the floor. By the time I even made it there, the dryer was making a different noise.”

 

“Both machines?”

 

“First the washer then the dryer!” she sobbed.

 

“Okay, okay.”  He lifted Will to his shoulder and pulled Scully against his chest and under his arm.

 

“I turned the power off, but the noise woke the baby and he hasn’t stopped crying and I can’t find a plumber and these God damn hormones are turning me into a blubbering idiot.”

 

“That’s definitely the hormones talking, because you’re not an idiot, you’re the smartest person I know.”

  
Scully sighed and Mulder rubbed Will’s back. The baby’s squalls had diminished to whimpers combined with some frustrated squirming.

 

“Here,” Mulder said, easing the baby from his shoulder and into Scully’s arms.  “Go sit down or lay down and I’ll find a plumber.

 

“Okay,” she whispered, leaning against him for a moment and then moving away.  She held Will close and kissed his head.

 

Mulder waited for her to disappear upstairs and he sighed.  He had no idea how to find a plumber and didn’t know what to do since usually he’d ask Scully.  He did the only other thing he could think of and called Frohike.

 

//

  
  


  1. One more step, I dare you.



 

They stood about two feet apart, Mulder crouched with his arms outstretched and Scully held on to Will’s hands as they tried to get him to walk.  Will stood on curled tip-toes, enjoying the attention, but refusing to let go of Scully’s hands.

 

“Come on, buddy,” Mulder said.  “We saw you take a step earlier, just walk over here.”

 

Scully tried to nudge Will forward and pulled lightly on his arms.  He giggled as though it were a game and leaned back against her legs.  She brought him back up on his toes and he bobbed up and down and lifted one foot.

 

“That’s it!” Mulder said.  

 

Will put his foot back down and laughed.  Mulder groaned and sat back on his heels.

 

“I’m sorry, Mulder,” Scully said.  “No matter how much we want him to walk, he’s just not going to do it on command.”

 

“I’m not even commanding, I’m begging,” Mulder said, leaning forward with his hands on his knees.  “I’m begging a one year old.”

 

Will let go of one of Scully’s thumbs and reached out to Mulder.  Mulder reached out as well and Will wrapped his hand around his dad’s thumb.  When Scully tried to let go, he squeezed her thumb tightly.

 

“You walk back and forth in front of the couch all the time,” Mulder said.  “You can walk from Mommy to me, I know you can.”

 

Will sucked his lips in and hummed as he looked up at Scully.  They were pretty sure it was his version of ‘Mama.’  For ‘Dada,’ so far, he usually stuck his tongue out, repeated something that sounded more like ‘lalalalala,’ and blew a drooly raspberry.

 

“Maybe we need a different approach,” Mulder said.  “Will, take one more step, I dare you.”

 

“Mulder!” Scully laughed.  “I don’t think idle threats are going to work here either.  He’ll walk when he’s ready.”

 

Scully managed to extract her hand from Will’s grip and he wobbled and took a step forward to catch himself.  Mulder’s eyes lit up and he wiggled his thumb free from Will’s grip as well.  Will stood unsteadily between the two of them and then plopped down onto his bottom.  He yawned and rubbed his fists into his eyes.

 

“Well, I guess we’re done here,” Mulder said, scooping Will up and rubbing the baby’s back as he rubbed his face back and forth against Mulder’s shoulder.  “I’ll take him up for a nap.”

 

Mulder moved upstairs and Scully flopped down onto the couch.  A few moments later, she could hear shuffling from the baby monitor on the coffee table and then Mulder’s voice.

 

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Mulder said, softly.  “You tried and I’m proud of you.  I don’t think my dad ever told me he was proud of me, but I always want you to know.  I’m proud of you and I love you. Have a good nap, buddy.”

 

Scully cleared the sheen in her eyes by the time Mulder came back downstairs and she patted the space next to her on the couch.  Mulder flopped down beside her and she snuggled up to him and kissed his neck.

 

“What was that for?” Mulder asked.

 

“Because I’m proud of you and I love you,” she said.

 

//

  1.   
  
If he does that one more time, you’re cleaning it up



 

They didn’t call it the terrible twos for nothing.  Every day was a test of boundaries and patience.  


When Scully got home, Mulder was covered in macaroni and cheese and looking weary. The car seat was inside, on the kitchen floor, and Will was buckled into it, also covered with macaroni.

 

“Problems with lunch?” Scully asked, just as Will threw a handful of macaroni at Mulder’s face.

 

Mulder closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “If he does that one more time, you're cleaning that up because I can't do it anymore.”

 

Scully picked the macaroni out of Mulder’s hair and gave him a sympathetic kiss before she knelt down and took Will’s hand firmly in her own.

 

“We do not throw food at Daddy,” she said.

 

Will grimaced and squirmed and waved his free hand at Scully, nailing her in the chest with the rest of the macaroni hidden in his fist.  She closed her eyes and wiped it off her shirt.

 

“Time out,” she said, turning the car seat around so it faced the corner of the kitchen and set the timer on the oven for two minutes.

 

Will screamed and cried and Mulder and Scully ignored him to pick up the bits of macaroni on the floor. Mulder sat back against the cupboards looking depressed and Scully patted his thigh as she sat beside him.

 

“Nothing seemed to work,” Mulder said. “He threw a fit over everything. I brought the car seat in so I could keep him in one place. He can climb out of his crib now, in case you were wondering.”

 

“It's just a phase,” Scully said.

 

“Are you sure we shouldn't open up an xfile to see if he might be part demon?”

 

“I thought nearsightedness ran in your family, not demon,” Scully quipped, linking her arm through Mulder’s and giving him a soft shake to break his sadness.

 

The timer went off and Scully crawled over to turn the car seat around to face a whimpering William. She unbuckled him out of the seat and kissed his face.

 

“Are you going to throw food at people anymore?” Scully asked and Will shook his head. “Good,” she said, putting him on his feet in front of Mulder. “Tell Daddy you're sorry and give him hugs.”

 

Will toddled over into Mulder’s lap. “Sowwy, Daddy.”

 

Mulder kissed William’s head and William patted Mulder’s cheeks with his sticky, macaroni hands. Mulder grimaced but laughed.

 

“You're a dirty job,” he said to Will. “But I love you even if you are part demon.”

 

//

 

  1.   
Superman or batman?



 

Scully was just putting dinner in the oven when the phone rang.  She picked it up on the third ring and held it to her shoulder as she set the timer to check back on the food.

 

“Mulder, where are you?” she asked.

 

“Scully, Superman or Batman?” he asked.

 

“Superman.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Is the question who would win in a fight between the two?”

 

“No, which costume do I get for Will?”

 

“I thought we agreed on Bob the Builder.”

 

“That’s so boring, Scully.  Superman and Batman have capes.”

 

“Bob the Builder has a tool box. But, my answer is still Superman.”

 

“Batman has a utility belt.”

 

“Blue would bring out the color in his eyes.”

 

“Oh my God, Scully, this isn't a beauty contest. Though, if it were, he'd win hands down, let's be honest, our son is devastatingly handsome. Takes after his dad.”

 

“Whatever you say, Mulder.” Scully hoped her eye roll could be heard over the phone. “Why don't you just get Batman then?”

 

“Ask Will.”

 

“You want me to ask a three year old to make a decision between two superheros that he probably knows nothing about?”

 

“Just ask him, I’m almost up to the registers.”

 

“Will,” Scully called, heading into the living room where Will was racing plastic cars over the carpet.  “Batman or Superman?”

 

“Badman,” Will said.

 

“Did you hear that?” Scully asked.

 

“One Batman costume coming up.  See you soon.”

 

“Get home safe.”  Scully hung up the phone and put it on the coffee table.  She got down on the floor next to Will and ran her hand down his back.  “Will, do you know who Batman is?”

 

“No.”

 

She chuckled and kissed his head.

 

//

  1.   
  
Twinkies and cotton candy is not dinner!



 

They had planned to take Will to the fair together, but Scully wasn’t feeling well and Mulder had to go with him alone.  He asked the neighbors who had a daughter Will’s age if they wanted to tag along and that’s how two dads spent the day with two four year olds at the fair.

 

Todd and his wife Margot moved into the neighborhood less than a year ago.  Their daughter, Lexi, was a month older than Will and they were in the same class in preschool. They often had playdates and sometimes Mulder and Margot helped each other out with carpooling.

 

Both Todd and Mulder expected to spend a few hours on some games and rides and to be home by early afternoon.  Neither counted on the exuberance and high energy of two kids who had never been to a fair before. They were no match against the protests of the four year olds when they tried to leave before dusk, and everyone was exhausted by the time they got home.

 

Mulder carried in a half-asleep Will from the car, trying to be quiet in case Scully had gone to bed early.  She was awake, though, and watching TV downstairs.

 

“You guys are back late,” she said, following Mulder upstairs.

 

“We had enough fun to cover at least the next month,” he said.

 

Will lifted his head from Mulder’s shoulder.  “I rode a pony,” he said.

 

“Did you?” Scully asked.

 

“Come on, cowboy,” Mulder said, standing Will on his bed.  “Time to get in your jammies.”

 

“Did you have dinner?” Scully asked.

 

“Cotton candy!” Will said, catching a second wind and jumping up and down on his bed.

 

“Will, you know you’re not supposed to jump on your bed,” Scully admonished, taking his hands to stop him before taking his shirt off.

 

“And Twinkies!” he added from under the clothes Scully was trying to peel off of him as he squirmed.

 

“Mulder!” Scully scolded, pulling Will’s pajamas out of his hand.  “Twinkies and cotton candy is not dinner!”

 

“Well that was just a snack.”  Mulder yawned.  “Hot dogs were dinner.”

 

“Can we go to the fair tomorrow?”

 

“No,” Mulder and Scully said at the same time.

 

Will groaned.  Mulder wrapped his arms around Scully from behind and rested his cheek on her head as she got Will into his pajamas.

 

“Are you feeling better?” Mulder asked.

 

“Mostly,” she said.

 

“Go lay down, I’ll put this little guy to bed and be in soon.”

 

“Are you sure? You look dead on your feet.”

 

“I got it,” he said, squeezing her hips.

 

Scully headed off to get ready for bed and twenty minutes later, when Mulder hadn’t come into their room, she went back to Will’s room to see what was happening.

 

“Shhh,” Will said, pointing at a sleeping Mulder sprawled out on one side of the bed next to him where he sat reading one of his books.  “Daddy’s sleeping.”

 

“Yes, I can see that.”  Scully went over to the side of Will’s bed, but she didn’t have the heart to wake Mulder.  “You okay with having a slumber party with Daddy tonight?”

 

Will nodded, excitedly.  Scully went to the linen closet in the hall and got out an extra blanket.  She took the book from Will and told him to snuggle down because it was bedtime and she draped the blanket over both Will and Mulder.  She placed a light kiss on Mulder’s cheek and Will’s forehead.

 

“If Daddy snores,” she said. “Just kick him in the shin.”

 

Will giggled.  Scully turned on the spaceship nightlight next to the door and turned out the overhead light.

 

“Night, boys.”

 

“Night, Mommy.”

 

//  
  


  1.   
Are you thirty-five or five?  
  
Scully finished putting candles into the birthday cake and licked traces of frosting from her fingers before she washed her hands and then searched for a pack of matches.



 

“Mulder!” She called. “Will you come in here, please?”

 

She heard Mulder padding across the carpet and into the kitchen.

 

“What's up?” he asked. “Oh, cake.”

 

Scully smacked his hand as he went to put his finger in the frosting.

 

“I can't find any matches,” she said.

 

“We've got that flame thing to light the fireplace with.”

 

“That should work.”

 

“Hang on.”  Mulder left and came back with a lighter. “You want to do this now?”

 

“Yeah, while it’s still early.”

 

Mulder lit the candles one by one and then carried the cake slowly behind Scully into their room where Will was bundled up in their bed watching TV. His eyes lit up as they sang Happy Birthday to him and then Mulder lowered it close so he could blow out the candles.

 

“I can have cake?!” Will asked.

 

“Just because you have chickenpox doesn't mean you can't have birthday cake,” Scully said. She had paper plates, plastic forks, and a knife in her hand which she used to cut the cake while Mulder held it.

 

“How old are you, Will?” Mulder asked. “Ten?”

 

“No,” Will giggled.

 

“Forty?”

 

“Daddy, you're silly.”

 

“You must be a hundred then.”

 

“No!”

 

“I just can't remember are you thirty-five, or five?”

 

“I'm five!”

 

“That's right now I remember. That's why Mommy put five candles on your cake.”

 

Scully tucked a napkin into Will's t-shirt and gave him the small plate of cake. Mulder took another plate and they sat on the bed together with Will.

 

“How old are you, Mommy?”

 

“Guess,” Mulder answered for her.

 

“And think carefully,” Scully added. “Remember I'm the one that puts the cream on your itchy spots.”

 

“Um, a million?” Will asked.

 

Mulder laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd heard and Scully shoved his shoulder.

 

“How old do you think Daddy is?” she asked Will.

 

“Seventy million,” Will answered.

 

It was Scully’s turn to laugh and Mulder shrugged. “Well I look pretty good for a dinosaur,” he said.

 

“Muldersaurus Rex,” Scully said.

 

Will laughed.

 

“Thanks for that,” he said, taking Scully's empty plate from her. “Will, you done?”

 

“How old will I be tomorrow?” Will asked, giving up his empty plate to Mulder and letting Scully wipe his hands.

 

“Five years plus one day,” Scully answered.

 

“Do I get more cake?”

 

“Only on your birthday, buddy.”

 

“My back is itchy,” he complained, twisting his shoulders uncomfortably.

 

“Doctor, Scully,” Mulder said, “I believe that's your cue.”

 

//

 

 

  1. It was all him. I had nothing to do with it.



 

“What is this?” Scully asked, setting her briefcase on the barcalounger and raising her brow.

 

“I got a puppy!” Will said, scrunching his face when the wiggling dog in his arms licked his chin.

 

“Mulder?”

 

“It was all him,” Mulder said, lifting up his hands in surrender.  “I had nothing to do with it.”

 

“That’s absolutely impossible.”  Scully sighed and knelt down so she could see the dog in Will’s arms.  It was young, but not a puppy.  Some sort of Jack Russell terrier mix that was bound to have more energy than two of Will put together.  The dog licked her fingers and smiled at her.

 

“His name is Daggoo,” Will said.

 

“How did you get this dog?”

 

“Dad and I were getting fish food and there was a man in a hat at the pet store and he had Daggoo and he said he couldn’t keep them and wanted the pet store to have him, but the pet store said no and told him to take him to a dog pound, but I said we would keep him because he’s too nice of a dog to go to jail.  So, we saved him.”

 

“How do you know he’s a nice dog?”

 

“The man in the hat said so.”

 

“Mulder,” Scully said.  “We talked about this.”

 

“We said we’d get him a dog one day.”

 

“When he could be responsible for it.  Feed it, walk it.”

 

“I’ll feed him!” Will interjected.  “I’ll walk him!”

 

“And pick up his dog poop?”

 

Will hesitated and made a face.  “Yes…”

 

“Are you sure about that?” Scully asked.

 

“He’ll take good care of him,” Mulder said, taking Daggoo out of Will’s arms and placing him into Scully’s.  “We can’t let the little guy go to jail, Scully.”

 

Scully had three hopeful faces looking at her; Mulder, the dog, and her son.  She scratched the dog under his muzzle and he stretched his head back for more.

 

“Fine,” Scully said.

 

“Yes!” Will cried, jumping up and throwing his arms up in victory.

 

“But, you’re going to feed him,” she said, firmly.

 

Will nodded emphatically.

 

“And walk him.”

 

“By myself?” Will asked.

 

“No, your father will be going with you for that,” she said, looking pointedly at Mulder.  “And what else are you going to do?”

 

“Play with him?”

 

“You’re going to pick up his dog poop.”

 

“Do I really have to do that?”

 

“Do you want a dog?”

 

“I want a dog, I want a dog!”

 

“Let me hear you promise.”

 

“I promise!”

 

Scully put Daggoo back in Will’s arms.  “Welcome home, Daggoo.”

 

//

  1.   
  
I don’t like you, get out of my fort.



 

Scully listened to the kids play from where she sat at the dining table editing a research paper for a medical journal.  Over the years there had been minor squabbles over the sharing of toys which required intervention, but those were few and far between these days.  Things seemed to be going fine until suddenly she heard Will’s voice, crystal clear.

 

“I don’t like you,” he said.  “Get out of my fort.”

 

Scully immediately dropped her pen and went into the living room.  Lexi stood outside the blanket fort that had taken all afternoon to build looking glum, biting one of her fingers.  Scully lifted one of the sheets back and found Wil laying inside.

 

“William, come out here, please,” she said.

 

“Why?” he asked.

 

“Because I said so.”

 

Will sighed heavily and crawled out from the sheet.

 

“I heard you,” Scully said.  “Why would you tell Lexi you don’t like her?”

 

“Because she has cooties.”

 

“No, I don’t,” Lexi said.

 

“Yeah huh!”

 

“Nu uh!”

 

“Shush,” Scully said.  “No one has cooties.  William, come with me.”

 

“Moooooom.”

 

“Lexi, Will will be right back.”

 

Scully marched Will into Mulder’s study and closed the door behind them.  Mulder looked up from his computer and took his glasses off when he sensed trouble.  Daggoo lifted his head from where he lay on Mulder’s leather couch and wagged his tail, but lowered his head back to his paws when he realized no one was there to give him attention.

 

“What happened?” Mulder asked.

 

“Your son just told his best friend he didn’t like her and that she had cooties.”

 

Mulder pursed his lips to fight a laugh and Scully raised her brow to sober him.  He plastered a serious expression on his face and came around the desk.

 

“Why would you think Lexi has cooties?” Mulder asked.

 

“Cody Prescott said that all girls have cooties,” Will said.

 

“Cody Prescott?” Mulder asked, looking up at Scully.  “Is he the one that’s been wearing bow ties since kindergarten?”

 

“Irrelevant,” Scully answered, turning Will by the shoulders to face her.  “Will, I’m a doctor.  There’s no such thing as cooties.”

 

“Yes, there is!” Will protested.

 

“Have you ever seen one?” Scully asked.

 

“No.”

 

“What do you think cooties are?” Mulder asked.

 

“Like, germs,” he said.  “I haven’t seen a germ either, but those are real.”

 

Mulder bit the inside of his cheek.

 

“I can pull out a microscope right now and show you a germ,” Scully argued.

 

“Okay,” Mulder said.  “I think we’re missing the point here.  Even if Lexi had girl cooties, so what?  Look.”  He pulled Scully to him and locked her in a bear hug while he kissed her face.  “Girl cooties all over the place and nothing happens.”

 

“Mom’s not a girl, she’s a _mom_ ,” Will said.

 

“Oh, I can assure you, Mom is very much a girl,” Mulder said, chuckling.

 

“Mulder!”  Scully wiggled out of Mulder’s arms and swatted his hands away as he tried to bring her back by grabbing her hips.

 

“Will, Lexi’s your best friend.  You’re going to go out there and apologize to her and let her into the fort the two of you made together, because you’re a nice boy and you don’t need to listen to Cody Prescott.”

 

“Or his bow ties,” Mulder mumbled against Scully’s shoulder and she elbowed him in the rib.

 

“Fine,” Will grouched, crossing his arms as Scully led him back to the living room.

 

Lexi was on the floor coloring, but she sat up when Will and Scully came back into the room.  “I drew you this,” she said, holding a paper up for Will that said ‘Wills fort only no gurls alowd.’

 

Scully nudged Will’s shoulder and he took the paper from Lexi.  “Thanks,” he mumbled.  “I’m sorry I said I didn’t like you.  You can come into my fort.”

 

When she was assured the kids were back to playing nicely, Scully returned to Mulder’s study and he looked up from his computer again.  He rolled back in his chair and opened his arm and she sat down in his lap and sighed.

 

“Cody Prescott isn't going to get anywhere near a girl cootie if he keeps wearing those bow ties,” Mulder said.

 

Scully chuckled. “Mulder, that's awful.”

 

Mulder scraped his teeth against her neck as he tickled her sides and she squirmed in his lap.  “I love your cooties, Scully.”

 

“I love your cooties too, Mulder.”

 

//

  
  


  1. Why is there no hot water?!



 

Mulder came in from planting the spring vegetables and took his dirty clothes off in the mud room.  He ran upstairs to jump in the shower and growled in frustration when all he got was cold water.  He wrapped a towel around his waist and left the master bathroom to use Will’s bathroom across the hall and found water and towels all over the floor.

 

“Will!” he yelled.

 

“What!?” Will yelled back from somewhere downstairs.

 

“Get up here right now.”

 

It took a minute, but Will finally wandered into the bathroom and lingered in the doorway.

 

“What the hell happened in here?” Mulder asked.  “And why is there no hot water?!”

 

“Daggoo needed a bath.  I gave him a bath.”

 

“Was there a shark in the bathtub with him?”

 

Will laughed and then sobered when Mulder glared at him.

 

“Where is Daggoo now?”

 

“Downstairs.”

 

“Getting everything wet?”

 

“No, I dried him off.”

 

“With what?”

 

“Mom’s hairdryer.”

 

Mulder groaned.  Scully would kill him.

 

“Clean all of this up right now.  I’m going to go take a cold shower and if I don’t die of hypothermia by the time I’m out, we’re going to sit down and have a talk about how you wash a dog.”

 

//

  1.   
  
I said no, three times to be exact.



 

Will knocked quietly on his parents door and stood shivering in the hallway, Daggoo at his side, until Mulder opened it for him.  Mulder’s hair was ruffled and his eyes were sleepy.

 

“What’s wrong, Will?”

 

“I had a bad dream,” he whispered.  “Can I sleep with you?”

 

Mulder rubbed the back of his head and frowned in confusion, but nodded. Will hadn’t had the kind of bad dreams that sent him running for their room since he was a toddler.  Quietly, so not to wake Scully, he led Will into the room and let him crawl into the bed before him.  Scully stirred as Daggoo jumped up on the bed and curled up at her feet.  She sat up on her elbow.

 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, feeling Will’s forehead and cheeks.  “Are you sick?”

 

“Bad dream,” Mulder answered for him, sliding into the covers and already drifting back to sleep before his head hit the pillow.

 

Will burrowed close to Scully and she stroked his head.

 

“What was your dream about?”

 

Will shook his head and trembled against her.

 

“Sometimes it helps to talk about it,” she said.  “It makes the scary go away.”

 

“Zombies,” Will whispered.

 

“Zombies?  Will did you watch that movie when I expressly told you not to?”

 

Will nodded and sniffed as he started to cry.

 

“I said no, three times to be exact.”

 

“But, I wanted to see it!” he cried.

 

“Yeah, how’d that work out for you?”

 

“What if a zombie finds me and eats my brain?” he asked.

 

“Your mom will shoot it,” Mulder mumbled.  “She’s got a good aim for zombies.”

 

“Mulder, shut your mouth.  Will, I promise you, zombies won’t eat your brain.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes, I’m sure.”  She rubbed his head and gave him a kiss.  “Close your eyes and go to sleep.  And the next time I tell you no, you better listen to me.”

 

Scully waited until Will fell asleep and then she leaned over her son and pinched Mulder’s arm.  Mulder startled awake and looked around, disoriented.

 

“What was that for?” he asked.

 

“Do not tell our son I go around shooting zombies.”

 

“You did, though.”

 

“He’s too young for that.”

 

“You’re never too young to know what a badass your mom is.”

 

Scully sighed.  “Go back to sleep.”

 

Mulder leaned over and kissed her softly and then kissed the back of Will’s head.

 

“Could’ve been worse,” he said, getting himself comfortable again.  “He could’ve peed the bed.”

 

//

  1.   
  
I’ll tell your mom on you



 

It was a ten minute drive from school to the house.  Mulder didn’t yell and Will made himself as small as possible in the back seat.  It was quiet until they pulled out of the parking lot.

 

“Look,” Mulder said.  “I understand the temptation.  I do.  It’s easy to let it slip out when you’re angry or frustrated, but you can’t use that kind of language in school.  I mean, I don’t want you using that language anywhere, but I understand, Will.”

 

“How much trouble am I in?”

 

“Oh, I think a night in your room and no TV will do it.”

 

Mulder glanced in the rear view mirror as Will sighed and banged his head against the seat. It was _Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?_ night.  Will’s favorite.  He wanted to _be_ on the show so bad.

 

“Do you ever hear your mom or me swear at home?” Mulder asked.

 

“Mom says ‘dammit’ sometimes.”

 

“True.  Anything worse than that?”

 

Will shook his head.

 

“Let me tell you something,” Mulder said.  “Words have meaning and power.  How you use them can give people a bad impression or a good impression.  You can choose them wisely or you can choose them carelessly.  It will make a difference.  I’m not naive, son, you’re going to go to high school and college and be surrounded by social pressure.  You’ll say things and do things I won’t approve of.  There’s a time and a place, Will.  This isn’t it.”

 

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

 

“Don’t let it happen again.  Or else.”  He gave his son a faux menacing look in the mirror.

 

“No TV for two nights?” Will joked, a little uneasily.

 

“Worse.  I’ll tell your mom on you.”

 

“You’re not gonna tell Mom?”

 

“Not this time.  But, I can tell you she’d be disappointed.”

 

“I know.”

 

Mulder pulled into the driveway and parked the car.  He got out and waited for Will to come around to the front of the car and he put his arm around the boy’s shoulders as they walked up to the porch.  Scully opened the front door before they got there, looking worried.

 

“What happened?” she said.  “I got a message from Will’s school there was some kind of behavioral problem.”

 

“It’s all good,” Mulder answered, squeezing Will’s shoulder.  “We took care of it.”

 

“I said a bad word in class,” Will answered, honestly.  “I got in trouble and dad had to pick me up.”

 

“What did you say?”

 

Mulder raised his eyebrows at Scully and Will dropped his head.

 

“Really?” Scully asked, inferring from their behavior just how bad it was.  “Oh, Will.”

 

“We took care of it.” Mulder assured her.

 

“Let me hear you say it,” Scully said, crossing her arms.

 

Will shook his head and pressed his lips into a tight line.

 

“If you’re going to say it in front of your class and your teacher, I want you to say it in front of me.”

 

Will shook his head more profusely.  “I’m going to go to my room and think about what I did.”

 

“No TV!” Scully called after him as he slunk inside the house.  “What did he say?”

 

“The class has been reading A Wrinkle in Time and discussing it every afternoon.”

 

“Will and I talked about it last week.  He wanted explanations on some of the concepts of quantum physics.”

 

“Well, you did an excellent job.  That little dweeb, Cody Prescott, said the book was impossible and stupid, and Will tried to explain the finer points of what he’d learned from his mother, but Cody said the book was still dumb.  That’s when Will really lost it and said Cody was the dumb one and the book was, and I quote, ‘fucking brilliant.’”

 

Scully rubbed her fingers against her lips for a few moments.  “I’m having a really hard time being mad right now,” she said.  “I’m mostly just proud.”

 

Mulder grinned.  “I know, right?  I gave him as stern of a lecture as I could in the car, but I really wanted to high five him for his own fucking brilliance.”

 

“Cody Prescott is such a little shit.”

 

“He really is.  Still wearing those stupid bow ties, too.”

 

//

  1.   
  
Babe, check it out.



 

It was Mulder’s night to do dishes and Scully’s night to dry.  Will had taken the trash out earlier and then poked his head back inside to ask if he could play with Lexi since it wasn’t dark yet.  Mulder had been watching them from the window over the sink as they kicked a soccer ball around the back yard, Daggoo chasing them, trying to get at the ball.  He glanced at Scully every so often, concerned over her health because she’d been more tired than usual the last few weeks and seemed unfocused.

 

“Scully,” he hissed.  “Come here.”

 

“Hm?”  Scully answered, sorting silverware into place in the silverware drawer.  She yawned behind the dishrag in her hand.

 

“Babe, check it out.”

 

“Since when do you call me ‘Babe?’”

 

“Just get over here, quick.”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Mulder nodded at the window and Scully leaned against him while rising on her toes to peer outside.  He put his arm around her and held her to her hip and they watched as Will and Lexi drifted back and forth together on the wooden swing hanging from an old tree in the back yard.  The swing certainly wasn’t big enough for two people, even small children. They were huddled close together, their legs dangling and barely touching the ground.

 

“What are they doing?” Scully whispered.

 

“Why are you whispering?” Mulder asked.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

They both audibly gasped as Will leaned over and kissed Lexi on the cheek.

 

“What the fuck!?” Scully exclaimed.

 

“Scully!”  Mulder laughed and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

 

“What is our son doing kissing girls?”

 

“I don’t think we need to be too worried, it was only on the cheek.”

 

“That’s how it starts.”  Scully sighed and shook her head and then pulled away from Mulder to turn her head from the window.

 

“Seems like just yesterday girls had cooties.”

 

“I’d like to go back to that day.”

 

“Aw, Scully.”  Mulder pulled her against him and wrapped his arms low against her back as he rocked her from side to side.  “Still have a lot to look forward to.  Shaving.  Driving.  Dating.  Finding dirty magazines under his bed that he swears he was just holding for a friend.”

 

Scully pulled back and raised her brow at Mulder.  “Personal experience, Mulder?”

 

“Of course not.  I’ve just heard about these things.”

 

“Mmhm.”  Scully rested her head against Mulder’s shoulder and sighed again.  “I miss that little baby with the toothless smile and downy head.”

 

“Me too.”

 

“Do you...ever wish we had another one?”

 

“Right now?”

 

“Maybe.  Or ever.”

 

“I don’t know.  All those night feedings and diapers and ugh, the terrible twos.”  Mulder paused and ran his hands up and down Scully’s back.  “Yeah, sometimes I do.  It’s okay, though.  I love what we have.”

 

Scully looked up at him and licked the side of her mouth before she bit her lip.  Mulder cocked his head as he looked down at her.

 

“I didn’t want to say anything because it’s so early,” she said.  “And, I’m not as young as I once was.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I haven’t really been feeling well lately.  Really tired.”

 

“I know.  I’ve been worried.”

 

Scully nodded.  “I know.  I’m fine, though.  I’ve just...missed my last two periods.”

 

Mulder pursed his lips and blinked at her.  “Are you…are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

 

“If you’re thinking midnight feedings, diapers and terrible twos.  Yeah, I’m saying what you think I’m saying.”

 

“Scully.”  Mulder held her face and kissed her lips before he dropped to his knees and put his cheek to her stomach.

 

“Don’t tell Will,” she said, running her fingers through Mulder’s hair.  “Not yet.  It’s still early.  I don’t want to upset him in case something happens.”

 

“Okay.  Okay.”

 

“Are you ready for this, Mulder?”

 

“Were we ever ready, Scully?”

 

“Probably not.”

 

The End  
  


 

 


End file.
